Seventeen (17) soldiers and 36 volunteer fighters have been killed in heavy clashes with militants in northern 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso. Attacks have worsened this year, making the country the epicentre of a violent movement that has also engulfed poverty-stricken #Mali and #Niger, killing thousands and forcing millions from their homes. #africa #burkinafaso #terrorism [ https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/burkina-faso-says-53-soldiers-volunteers-killed-clashes-with-militants-2023-09-05/ ]
Out of Burkina Faso, Mali & Niger, three (3) of the Sahel countries hit hardest by jihadi violence, Niger was the only one to see an improvement in its security, with attacks on civilians decreasing by nearly 50%, in the first six (6) months of this year (2023) compared with the previous six (6) months, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Analysts say the defection program played a part. [ https://apnews.com/article/niger-coup-former-jihadis-defector-program-4968dadb9987eb7d2f6aead7b656ebca ]
« We are not going to repeat the experiences of Mali, Guinea & Burkina Faso, where ECOWAS found itself in a trade-off with the military regimes, haggling over the duration and as we speak, some of them are still thinking of unilaterally extending the transitions in their conditions. We are not going to use what happened in Mali, Guinea & Burkina Faso as a template for Niger. We are drawing a line in the sand. » ( Abdel-Fatau Musah ) [ https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/en-tête-à-tête/20230906-ecowas-commissioner-says-not-discussing-any-transition-with-niger-junta ]
